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POEMS by Kieu Bich Hau


POEMS by Kieu Bich Hau

The anger


It's alright, just let it out

Shout at me

Release the blind rage

that has long built up

in your heart, your mind

your every cell

Just shout at me,

use your angry eyes,

Use the fire,

with the light that burns

my skin, my hair, my soul

The anger of this earth

the anger from pain and despair

from repressed feelings

from bearing the sins of being human…


And you are free

And I will hug you in my trembling arms

And all tears will flow

in a current into the Blue Danube,

into the Red River,

into all

And we melt into that river

Remaining forever

flowing into the universe

We are a giant tear

scattered

in the universe.


How to hold this longing?


I wish to store all these tormented memories

in a secret box.

Hide it inside me

So I can live normally


But every night it wakes me up

in a sweet, painful longing for you

Why we are together,

at the same time very far away?


I lull my heart every night,

pretend to see the sweetness in the lost proximity

in the lost kisses

the lost touches…


The regret of all those losses

Will it drown me in an ocean of misery?

The beauty of love

Will it burn away this heart?


The divine emptiness

“Be present” (HJB)


Why we meet?

then be forced to part…

Why full moon?

then crescent moon…


Why you fill me?

then let me go

The emptiness

fills me again

The invisible Tantra intimacy

reveals itself

at night

and I feel

I am the one.


I can be everyone

at day

Only the emptiness

appears

when it’s not night or day

when I am not here or there

I am divided

to be in three worlds,

three states

Awaken to be no one

nowhere

beyond the timeline


What remains

the sensation of ever Samadhi

within my stillness.

What remains

just the scent of a fresh mint leaf

that stirs my spirit

Love in moonlight

Love in sunshine

Love is source of endless energy

Love is religion of all human beings.


Purification


Grows from the mud of samsara

The lotus blooms into endless love verses

Each petal contains a verse

continues to open

open

open more…


When all other people read those verses

The happiness will be released

The light will shine over

The love grows inside all hearts

from a golden seed,

Leave the emptiness in me

A purification

Just being here right now


The song of Red River


They used to be soldiers

They are poets, too

They sang in the forest

Their tears fell on sacrificed comrades after battles

Beyond the death,

Beyond the life

Beyond the war

They have lived that poetry trend of Vietnam

Forever Vietnam.

And today by the Red River

We sing all together the eternal love song for them



Kieu Bich Hau is a distinguished Vietnamese writer and member of the Vietnam Writers' Association. Currently, she serves as Editor of "Writer & Life" magazine and Media Director of SaVipharm. Hau is also the founder and head of Hanoi Female Translators.


Her literary prowess has garnered numerous prestigious awards, including the Vietnam Literary Award for the Youth (1992), Vietnam Second Award in the short story contest (2007), and Vietnam Award in the short story contest (2009). She has also received recognition from military institutions, such as the Naval Command Award (2015) and Military Arts & Literature Magazine Award (2015). Internationally, Hau has received The ART Danubius Prize (2022) for fostering Vietnamese-Hungarian literary relations, and the International Poetry Festival - Europa in Versi Special Award (2023) for promoting Vietnamese poetry and prose globally.


Her remarkable contributions have earned her honorary degrees, including the higher honorary degree for extraordinary achievements in Literature as Ambassador for Vietnam from Prodigy Life Academy US. Most recently, she received The Great Award of Korea (2023) and an award from Thanh Nien Newspaper (2023) for her short story "Overcome the Flooding."


As a prolific author, Hau has published 25 books of prose, poetry, and essays in Vietnam, Italy, and Canada. Her works have been translated into 18 languages, including English, Italian, Korean, Russian, and Arabic, solidifying her reputation as a leading voice in Vietnamese literature.



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